Truett Cathy was born in 1921 and grew up in Eatonton, Georgia. Truett's early years were spent helping his mom cook and clean for those who boarded in their home and later by selling newspapers to neighbors to help support his family. He eventually started selling bottles of Coca-Cola out of a wagon, which jumpstarted his entrepreneurial spirit.

Truett and his brother Ben opened The Dwarf Grill in Hapeville, Georgia, in 1946. Truett married his childhood sweetheart, Jeannette, in 1948, and they had three children of their own: Dan, Bubba, and Trudy.

Because of the diner's success, Truett decided to grow his business further. In 1967, Truett celebrated the opening of the first Chick-fil-A® restaurant in Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall. Today, there are over 2,250 Restaurants in 47 states. Some of the more unique restaurants Truett opened are Truett's Grill, Truett’s Chick-fil-A, Truett's Pizza Café, and Truett's Luau.

Throughout his life, Truett invested his time into more than just his business. While Truett is known as the inventor of the Chicken Sandwich, Truett always believed he was in the business of people, not chicken. He wrote six books and was dedicated to having a positive impact of the lives of youth. Truett himself never attended college, but believed higher education was important. He used Chick-fil-A as a platform to give over $35 million in college scholarships to Chick-fil-A Team Members. He also founded the WinShape Foundation in 1984 with the partnership of his wife, Jeannette. Their focus was to serve youth—to shape winners by helping young people find life success. Over the years, WinShape’s ministry work has expanded to impact and serve people in every stage of life.

On Sept. 8 2014, Truett Cathy passed away at the age of 93.